|
|
|
|
Travelling to Europe
Documents you that you will need when travelling in or to Europe.
For EU citizens - Passport or identity card
There are no longer any frontier controls at the borders between
more than half the EU countries. This is thanks to the so-called
Schengen agreement which is part of EU law. The Schengen rules
remove all internal border controls but put in place effective
controls at the external borders of the EU and introduce a common
visa policy. The full Schengen members are Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden (but not Ireland and the
United Kingdom) plus Iceland and Norway (which are not EU members).
The 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 do not yet fully
participate in Schengen. You will therefore need a valid passport
or ID card to travel to those countries and to Ireland and the
United Kingdom.
When entering or leaving the EU at the external borders you
will need a valid passport or an ID card. You may, of course,
need your passport when leaving the EU in order to enter the
country of your destination.
It’s best to have your passport or ID card when travelling
in the EU because you may be required to prove your identity.
If public order or national security so require, checks at the
internal borders may be carried out for limited periods.
Make sure that any children travelling with you either have
their own passport or ID card or are registered on yours.
Agreements with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland
enable their nationals to be treated in the same way as EU citizens
and to travel with just an ID card or passport in the EU.
More information on the free movement of people within the EU.
Visa: You will not need
a visa for travelling within the EU.
For non-EU citizens - Passport
You will need a valid passport.
Visa
There are 33 countries whose nationals do not need a visa to
visit the EU for three months or less. These include three candidate
countries — Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania (but not Turkey)
— as well as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and
the United States. The list of countries whose nationals require
visas to travel to the United Kingdom or Ireland differs slightly
from other EU countries. If in doubt, check with the nearest
consulate of any EU country.
If your visa is from a country fully applying the Schengen rules,
it automatically allows you to travel to the other Schengen
countries as well. Moreover, if you have a valid residence permit
from one of those Schengen countries, it is equivalent to a
visa. You may need a national visa to visit Ireland, the United
Kingdom and the new member states. Some new member states accept
Schengen visas or Schengen residence permits so check with their
consulates.
More information about travel rights for non-EU citizens and
visa requirements, including a list of countries whose nationals
require a visa for travelling in the EU.
Insurance documents
Do not forget your travel,
health
and car insurance documents.
(Source: Europa
- Travelling in Europe)
|
|
|
